A friend sent me this true story. My tears came rolling down when I read it. It's so touching that I've decided to share it here even though it's not about music. Sorry that it's a bit long.

Two Choices
What would you do? You make the choice. Don't look for a punch line; there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question to all of you is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning difficulties disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: "When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?" The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. "I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes, in the way other people treat that child." Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked,” Do you think they'll let me play?" Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play, not expecting much.

The boy looked around for guidance and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning." Shay struggled over to the team's bench put on a team shirt with a broad smile and his Father had a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father’s joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible 'cause Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing the other team putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over, but the pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the head of the first baseman, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay ever ran that far but made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!"
Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to second base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball, the smallest guy on their team, who had a chance to be the hero for his team for the first time... He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions and he too intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay"
Shay reached third base, the opposing shortstop ran to help him and turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third" As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams and those watching were on their feet were screaming, "Shay, run home! Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the "grand slam" and won the game for his team.

That day, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world.

Shay didn't make it to another summer and died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his Father so happy and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

If you also have a true inspiring story to share, please feel free to do so here. My sister told me that she once saw on tv, an autistic boy who despite much difficulty, grew up to be a nice and kind person and also a marathon runner in Japan and that she was inspired by the mother of this boy. Pity I missed it! I wonder? Are there any music-related (as opposed to just sports-related) stories of special needs kids who achieve some level of usefulness in society/social acceptance and independence? Having said that, I'm sure it does not matter whether it's music or sports inspired. I only wondered because my autistic boy happens to be mad about music.

Tess

Aww thats such a moving and touching story *sob* Thanks for sharing that with us Tess. Its a shame not everyone in the world is that nice...

aww such a sweet story that's really gorgeous *sniffs*

What a lovely story, Tess. I think I will print it off and read it to my two.

How brave of the dad, to risk the pain of rejection by asking. And what lovely children. Your story highlights the point that tangible progress in things like sport, music and academic results only reflects part of a child's development; there are aspects of character which are even more fundamental, yet infinitely more difficult to "prod" in the right direction.

I recall a very nice dad at my school who's wise interest in his son's development produced an athlete of almost olympic quality, academically bright and able in every field capable of testing - yet this same boy was reckoned both at school and beyond, to put it nicely, to be a "prize pratt". If I was that dad I could imagine myself feeling I had done all the right things, followed the right paths, and wondering what happened. But that is because the path to encourage children like the ones in your story is not at all clear. Children who aren't cocky and self obsessed, but look out for each other. I think people like teachers, schoolfriends, parents, brothers and sisters, sunday school teachers all have a role to play but defining that role can seem very subjective.

I'm afraid I can't at the moment recall a similar story to share, but I was very moved to see a TV documentary about this lady

She wasn't on some huge ego trip - she only took up sport after being diagnosed with cancer, and her primary thinking was to leave her children with strong memories of her rather than just someone giving up on life and dwindling away in pain. As a handy bi-product she raised over £1m for charity. Another bi-product seemed to be that the couple of months she had been given to live kept getting 5 year extensions. She was also one of the smiliest people I have ever seen, and being a bit of a worrier about comparatively trivial things myself, I found the story inspirational.

That's such a sweet and inspiring story!

She's amazing, Zoda. Thanks!

And, you are so right - The story does highlight the point that tangible progress in things only reflects PART of a child's development. Yes, indeed, there are aspects of CHARACTER which are even MORE fundamental, yet infinitely more difficult to "prod" in the right direction. And, character is enduring, tangible achievements aren't, really. One looks at Olympians and admire not the medals, but the characteristics of the holders like self-motivation, discipline, faith, patience, perseverance, teamwork, etc.